by Wally Richards
POTATOES
This is a perfect time to plant a few potatoes to enjoy the real home grown flavor in a few months from now.
If you have ample land you can plant lots of potatoes to harvest later when mature, store and likely have all the spuds you need till you plant again next season.
For those who have limited garden area for planting potatoes then there are other vegetables better suited to plant for your dinning that take less room and mature quicker for use.
If you do not have areas to grow potatoes in the ground then not all is lost, as you can use grow bags.
I found on Temu’s website a whole range of what they call ‘potato grow bags’ that have a flap on one side that you can open to harvest your crop at maturity without having to dig or pull the plants out.
These bags or similar on the website are also ideal for growing tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and many other vegetable varieties.
All you need is an area that receives a reasonable amount of sunlight for a few hours every day.
Even in a situation where the plants do not receive any direct sunlight you can then spray the foliage with what I have called ‘Liquid Sunshine’ — a tablespoon of molasses dissolved into a litre of hot water and then 10 ml of Magic Botanic Liquid added.
Put into a trigger sprayer and spray the foliage every day. Leave the sprayer where handy to the crop to use till all the spray is used up, then make another fresh lot.
Why grow some potatoes? I can tell you in two words: ‘Great Taste’.
Most commercially-grown potatoes are bland in taste because they have been grown with man-made fertilisers and forced growth from using urea or other nitrogen growth boosters.
So how do you grow the best tasting potatoes you will ever eat? It’s simple and this can be applied to growing in open ground or in the potato bags.
You need to select the variety of potatoes you prefer and with that, the maturity time you prefer.
Below is a list of the most common potatoes to help with your choice.
Once you have what are called ‘seed potatoes’ (any potato is a seed potato if you use it for planting, no longer a seed potato if you eat it, fairly obvious!) We place our ‘seed’ potatoes in a suitable place outside such as under trees or shrubs in a wooden box or under a car port to ‘green them up’ which means to harden off the shoots at the potatoes eyes.
They should not be in direct sun light as you are likely to cook them.
You do not need to plant the whole seed potato; as long as it has eyes on each part you plant, it will grow as people often find when they put their potato peelings into the compost then have a potato plant growing.
In Britain during the war when food was scarce they would peel the potatoes, plant the peelings and eat the spud.
Now if you would like to try my way of growing and fertilising your seed potatoes then do this.
In a potato bag place about 10cm of good purchased compost, then over that sprinkle some BioPhos, gypsum and a few sheep manure pellets or chicken manure (if you have that).
Nowadays you have Wallys Real Blood & Bone to add to the mix. Lightly cover with a little more compost and sit your seed potato on that with as many eyes as possible sitting up.
Then add more compost to just cover the potato and the sprouted eyes. Have a bag or two of compost handy and as soon as the sprouts break out of the compost cover them again as soon as possible. Keep doing so every time the foliage pokes through till you reach near the top of the bag. If you miss doing so and the foliage gets to a bit of a height, say about 5 cm or more, then you have lost the plot.
This continual coverage forces the the plant to grow a long stem and that is where the new potatoes form; the longer the stem the bigger the crop off one plant.
In open ground a deep trench is dug out and then you proceed as above, but now cover with the soil you have removed.
Once up to ground level then you keep covering to make a mound. At some point you stop and let the foliage enjoy the freedom of sun light.
By planting early and growing fast maturing varieties you can overcome the potato psyllids problem if that is a problem in your area.
Placing Neem Granules on the soil by the foliage before you start mounding will help with control of insect pests that eat the potatoes in the soil.
Now here are the varieties and maturity times of common potatoes.
1st Early
Cliff Kidney Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Kidney Skin: White Flesh: White
General: Waxy potato good for boiling, salads, casseroles & soups with
excellent flavour.
Jersey Bennes Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Oval Skin: White Flesh: White
General: Waxy potato good for boiling, salads, casseroles, soups and mashing.
Liseta Maturity: Approx 70-80 days Tuber Shape: Long oval Skin: White
Flesh: Creamy yellow General: Firm cooking waxy potato ideal for boiling,
salads, casseroles, soups & roasting. High yielder.
Maris Anchor Maturity: Approx 90-100 days Tuber Shape: Oval Skin: White Flesh: White
General: Excellent as an early boiling potato, also suitable for roasting.
Rocket Maturity: Approx 60-70 days Tuber Shape: Oval Skin: White Flesh: White
General: Great boiling and roasting potato.
Swift Maturity: Approx 60-70 days Tuber Shape: Round Skin: White Flesh: Cream
General: Waxy potato ideal for boiling, salads, casseroles & soups.
High yielder.
2nd Early
Allura Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Round oval shape, shallow eyes
Skin: White bright skin Flesh: White. General: Lovely tasting potato. Great boiled, roasted and as wedges or chips. Very versatile and suits all cooking requirements. Holds firm on cooking. Very high yielder.
Chippewa Maturity: Approx 80–90 days Tuber Shape: Round Skin: White Flesh: White
General: Excellent cooking potato good for boiling and roasting.
Heather Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Long oval Skin: Purple blue
Flesh: White General: Waxy potato ideal for boiling, salads, casseroles, mashing and roasting. Excellent flavour.
Ilam Hardy Maturity: Approx 70-80 days Tuber Shape: Oval round Skin: White
Flesh: White General: Floury potato ideal for mashing, baking, roasting, chips and wedges.
Karaka Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Oval Skin: White Flesh: White
General: Great all round cooking potato with excellent flavour. High yielder.
Merlin Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Round to oval
Skin: Yellow, red eyes Flesh: Cream General: Great boiling potato.
High yielder.
Nadine Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Round Skin: White Flesh: White
General: Waxy potato good for boiling, salads, casseroles, soups.
Osprey Maturity: Approx 90-100 days Tuber-Shape: Oval Skin: White with red eyes.
Flesh: Cream General: Good for all purpose cooking. Stays firm, great to microwave & roast. High yielder.
Pentland Dell Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Long oval Skin: White
Flesh: White General: Good cooking.
Purple Heart Maturity: Approx 80-90 days Tuber Shape: Oval and shallow eyes
Skin: Deep purple and smooth Flesh: Purple toned. General: Great for salads, boiling and microwaving Health: Strong in antioxidant benefits.
Purple Passion Maturity: Approx 70-80 days Tuber Shape: Oval long shape, shallow eyes
Skin: Purple Flesh: Cream to very pale yellow General: Excellent cooking
qualities great for boiling and chipping. Holds firm on cooking.
Main Crop
Agria Maturity: Approx 90-100 days Tuber Shape: Long oval Skin: Cream
Flesh: Yellow General: Floury potato suitable for boiling, mashing, baking, wedges and great for chips. High yielder.
Desiree Maturity: Approx 90-100 days Tuber Shape: Round Skin: Pink Flesh: Cream
General: Good for all general cooking, great to microwave.
Moonlight Maturity: Approx 90-100 days Tuber Shape: Round oval Skin: White
Flesh: White General: Good all purpose, cooks well as a boiling and chipping potato. High yielder.
Red King Maturity: Approx 100-120 days Tuber Shape: Oval Skin: Red Flesh: White
General: Good all round cooking potato with excellent flavour.
Red Rascal Maturity: Approx 90-100 days Tuber Shape: Oval Skin: Very red
Flesh: White General: Floury potato that is a good all purpose cooking.
Suitable to be grown organically.
Rua Maturity: Approx 100 days Tuber Shape: Round to oval Skin: Fine white
Flesh: White General: Good all rounder for roasting and boiling.
Van Rosa Maturity: Approx 90-100 days Tuber Shape: Round Skin: Very red
Flesh: White General: Good all purpose potato, great for boiling and roasting
You can tell your potatoes are ready when the green leafy vines above ground turn yellow, brown, and completely die back. Wait about two weeks after the foliage dies so the potato skins thicken up. Then, rub a test potato’s skin; if it does not flake off, they are ready to dig and better storable.
Try a few in bags — you will enjoy the experience and taste.
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